Earlier this year Kentucky joined that trend with the Explore Kentucky History app. The first offering of the app focused on Civil War sites, and highlighted some of the state’s historical markers.

The app offers what is becoming a “standard” suite social media connections (although limited to Facebook, Twitter, and email in this case) with the “share this” tag.

Now the Kentucky Historical Society is expanding the app beyond the Civil War. They’ve added a War of 1812 tour and plan to add in an Abraham Lincoln tour (of course) along with regional history focused tours.

I’ll be the first to admit, a few years ago I was skeptical about the appeal of history themed mobile apps. I was off the mark. These apps are well received. I wouldn’t say they will eclipse Angry Birds in terms of download counts. But with these apps gaining an audience, the days of the old travel brochure may be numbered. Is there a day when the historical markers will all be “virtualized” within an app?